It is commonly thought that a person either has charisma or they don’t. You either have it or you haven’t – it is something that is decided at birth. However, this isn’t the case. In his bestselling and recently published book
My book review
Fitzpatrick argues that babies are naturally charismatic but we learn how to repress our charisma through fear of failure or of standing out from the crowd. Most of us need to relearn these skills. Fitzpatrick shows how certain behaviours can become habits but only if we practise them enough. It all begins with the right attitude.
“What would you think of yourself if you met yourself?”
One question posed in the book is “What would you think of yourself if you met yourself?” It really forces you to consider how you might come across to others. We’ve all met people in our personal and business lives that we have liked immediately and others that we took a dislike or disregard to.
Everyone knows that folding your arms can be a huge ‘no no’. Did you know that there are many other elements of your body language, your facial expressions, your language, your air of confidence that will have an effect on the other person’s perception of you? The Charismatic Edge shows you how to act so you are responding appropriately to the other person, so they feel a rapport growing. People will remember you if you help them to feel happier or better or more content, they are also more likely to buy from you.
Fitzpatrick shows how you can improve your charisma by changing your posture and immediately feeling more confident, by becoming accustomed to creating positive states, by creating habits or routines and how they improve our efficiency, how to improve your listening skills, how to speak with more clarity, how to reassure others by appearing calm and composed.
‘How to influence people’
In my opinion, one of the most useful chapters is ‘How To Influence People’ which examines the various ways in which you can increase sales, grow your business, achieve promotion – many showing how you use language to persuade and influence people.
‘How to tell a captivating story’
I also particularly enjoyed the chapter on ‘How to tell a captivating story’. I’ve seen Fitzpatrick tell stories to demonstrate points in presentations and yes, they are captivating – you simply hang onto every word to hear the ending, to ensure you catch the humour you know is coming. Apparently it is all due to a feel-good chemical called dopamine which is released when we are paying attention to a story. We all need to tell stories – in our blog writing, in writing press releases, in our website copy, in our vine videos, when we meet people for the first time, when we are trying to inspire others.
Amusing
Apart from being full of good tips, common sense and theory, The Charismatic Edge is also an amusing book. Fitzpatrick is not shy of recounting stories where he came off worst in an experience as he shows how he learnt from it. There’s a serious side to it too as he reveals his severe depression as a teenager – this serves to show how anything is achievable once you put your mind to it and make a new behaviour a habit.
[youtube width=”525″ height=”375″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmQwo9aAhxw[/youtube]
Snippet from Art of Charisma course 2007
Charisma online training
Fitzpatrick is also launching Charisma online training this month. Having attended the Charisma bootcamp last year, I can thoroughly recommend it. Fitzpatrick admits freely that he was that stereotypical geeky teenager who was shy, easily embarrassed and terrified of speaking in public. One can learn much from his presentational skills as well as the content yet like all excellent presenters, he makes it look so effortless. He is a captivating and compelling communicator and his story proves that charisma can be learnt, practised and achieved.
This book isn’t just for those who are interested NLP – it has something for everyone, as long as they want to improve some element of their personal or business lives. Whether you are looking to increase sales in your own business, get a promotion, deliver a speech effectively, improve your personal life, this book will help you achieve any or all of these goals.
Did you like this article?
- Please share it with your network, we’d really appreciate it!
- Would you like to write for Tweak Your Biz? Or sign up for our RSS?
- An outstanding title can increase tweets, Facebook Likes, and visitor traffic by 50% or more. Generate great titles for your articles and blog posts with the Tweak Your Biz Title Generator.
Connect with Tweak Your Biz on: 
Images: ”Owen Fitzpatrick International
